Church vows not to build on land in Lee-on-the-solent
A bid to turn green space outside a Lee-on-the-solent church into an official recreational area has been dropped after the Diocese of Portsmouth said it wouldn’t build there.
In 2017, an application was submitted to Hampshire County Council to register land at Victoria Square as a town or village green.
The Diocese of Portsmouth owns the land and the application aimed to convert the land into a space where local people can rightfully play sports or games and have picnics.
The application, submitted by the Lee Residents Association, sought to register the land on the basis it had been used by a significant number of locals for sports and pastimes for at least 20 years. It has now been withdrawn after the diocese said it had no plans to develop the open space.
The association said that re-registering ‘The Green’ as a village green was intended “to protect an established ‘as of right’ use and allow that use to continue unbroken”.
The county council advertised the application in December 2023. The diocese then sent a statement of objection to the council laying out “a number of grounds, citing relevant case law, on which the application should be refused”, the county council report said.
At the end of the consultation period, the diocese’s objections were forwarded to the Lee Residents Association.
The association told the council last month “it would be content to withdraw its application if the diocese could confirm that it had no intention of developing the application land”.
After the confirmation was received, the association withdrew its application.
A group spokesperson said: “In its objection statement the diocese has confirmed that it has no plans to develop the open space.”
The diocese has confirmed that it has no plans to develop the open space